Sport training apparatus  and method of use

ABSTRACT

A training apparatus having a harness mountable about a user&#39;s waist and thigh and a pull securable to the harness at a region corresponding to the iliac of a crest of the user for pulling the harness to encourage or resist turning of the user&#39;s hips to respectively teach or strengthen weight transfer from a back foot to a front foot of the user. A method is provided for training a person in an activity requiring transfer of weight and momentum from a lower area to an upper area of a person.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/497,693, filed Jun. 16, 2011 which is incorporated by reference as iffully set forth.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to sports training equipment andmore particularly to sports training equipment for teaching correct hiprotation for transferring force and momentum from one's lower body toone's upper body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Success in many sports requires the precise use of a powerful motion topropel a ball or object, either by throwing it, kicking it or by usingan implement (e.g. racquet, club or bat) to strike it. Though the sportscan be quite diverse (e.g., golf, tennis, hockey, football andbaseball), there are significant similarities in the biomechanics andkinesiology of how power is generated and applied within the throwing,kicking and hitting skills characteristic of these sports.

There are several key principles of effective power generation inkicking, throwing and hitting motions. First, one must have a stablebase, or platform, from which to generate power. Lower body balance, andcontrol of the transfer of weight and momentum are vital for deliveringforce in the desired direction. Throwing and hitting motions aregenerally initiated by shifting the majority of one's weight from theback foot and leg forward to the lead foot. The weight transfer isessential in maximizing power, via summation of forces, torque andlength of lever biomechanical properties. The key is to have anintegrated and fluid movement involving as many joints as possiblegenerating a maximum amount of power to hit or throw an object. Kickingrequires a similar transfer of power from the lower body via the object.Maximizing hip thrust will impart a greater force on to the object.

A key area where this fluid movement chain is broken is the transfer ofpower from the lower body to upper body area. If there is no fluidtransfer from the lower body to the upper body, then all of the powergenerated from the lower body (the strongest muscles in the body) willbe negated. This means that one's skill will only be completed with thepower of their upper body. This is also a cause of throwing injuries, aspeople often use only their arms to throw, as opposed to their entirebody.

The benefit of coordinating lower body and upper body (trunk) movementsis that it maximizes axial rotation, or rotation around the spine. Thistranslates into shoulder turn, which generates power. The differentialrotation of the shoulders relative to rotation of hips and lower body isone key to generating maximum stored (potential) energy.

Arms perform widely different functions depending on the sport, butthere are three principles that pertain to generating power. First, inthe preparation or windup phase of the motion, the arms must remain astension-free as possible. Second, external rotation of the humerus atthe shoulder is a key ingredient for matching the efforts of the bodyand arms (and therefore the implement). The position and function of thewrist must be maintained into a hitting or throwing zone. These threecharacteristics, to be detailed later, are essential to a number ofhitting, kicking and throwing motions that are the foundation of manysports.

The initiation of a forward, or downswing, comes next, after the upperbody is coiled upon the more stable lower body. Amateurs strugglemightily with this. If they haven't lost their ideal position on thebackswing, most lose it immediately at the beginning of the downswing.Professionals seem to harness and deliver power with seemingly littleeffort. What's the difference?

Efficiently generating power in a forward swing or throw requiresseveral things. First, weight must be transferred to the forward footwhile maintaining balance and a stable platform. Second, rapid hiprotation commences, during and in conjunction with continued weightshift, effectively increasing the differential rotation between theshoulders and lower body. This produces “lag”, i.e., a stretching of themuscles in the side and back between the upper torso and the hips, whichis the key to preserving the potential energy of the backswing. Third,the arms, moving in unison with the body as it uncoils, are whippedthrough the throwing/hitting zone, thereby increasing clubhead/racquet/hockey stick/bat/ball/speed. Fourth, by not trying tomanipulate the hands or implement through contact, a full andunrestricted follow through can ensue to complete the motion.

To date, no individual sport swing training apparatus has adequatelyaddressed the key issues of power discussed above. More specifically, nohitting, kicking and/or throwing training device on the market attemptsto train for multiple sports by harnessing the proper sequence of jointand muscle forces for generating and applying power.

Hundreds of devices have been invented to help people with their swingsin sports. They are sport specific, and the vast majority are golfdevices. None have been devised to correctly harness power, reinforcethe proper sequence in applying it, and adapt to multiple sports.

SUMMARY

A method of training a person in an activity requiring transfer ofweight and momentum from a lower area to an upper area of the person.The method comprises the steps of:

(i) securing a pull to an area corresponding to an iliac crest of atrailing hip of the person;

(ii) having the person commence the activity; and,

(iii) applying force to the pull to either (a) urge the person's hips toturn to encourage weight transfer motion from a back foot to a frontfoot of the person in coordination with the activity or to (b) resistturning of the person's hips to strengthen the weight transfer motion.

A training apparatus for use in the above method is provided having aharness mountable about a user's waist and thigh and a pull securable tothe harness at a region corresponding to the iliac crest of a hip of theuser for pulling the harness to encourage turning of the user's hips tofacilitate weight transfer from a back foot to a front foot of the user.The training apparatus may be in a kit also including instructions as tothe above method.

At least a section of the pull may be resilient.

The resilient section may be exchangeable for another resilient sectionhaving different resiliency.

The resilient section may have markings indicative of a degree ofresiliency.

The harness may comprise of a waist strap secured to a thigh strap.

The waist strap and thigh strap may each be provided with interengagingsecurement means for securing the waist strap and the thigh strap firmlyabout the user's waist and thigh respectfully.

The pull may have a proximal end proximal the harness and a distal enddistal the harness and the distal end may be provided with a securingmeans for securing the distal end to an object, person or other sporttraining apparatus.

The pull may comprise a strap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent fromthe following description in which reference is made to the appendeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention in use;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention in use;

FIG. 5 is a further view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention in use;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention in use in a strength training application; and,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention in use in yet another strength training application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A training apparatus according to the present invention is generallyindicated by reference numeral 10 in the accompanying illustrations. Thetraining apparatus 10 has a harness 12 comprising a waist strap 14 and athigh strap 16. Each of the waist strap 14 and thigh strap 16 areprovided with interengaging securement means 18 and 20 respectively suchas the hook and loop fastener illustrated or suitable alternatives suchas a buckle arrangement, a cinchable strap, dome fasteners, etc., forsecuring the waist strap 14 and 16 firmly about the waist and thigh of auser 30.

Although straps are illustrated and described, it will be appreciatedthat the harness may take other forms, such as, for example, a pant orgirdle type of arrangement. The harness is intended to enable mountingof a pull 40 to a region 50 corresponding to iliac crest of the user 30to enable guiding of the hip by pulling on the pull 40. Accordingly, anymounting/securing arrangement conducive to such a purpose may beutilized. Straps, while likely the simplest arrangement, are notnecessarily the only arrangement as will be appreciated by those skilledin the art.

The pull 40 would typically be pulled on by an instructor such as acoach 60 illustrated or another athlete skilled in the activity beingtaught. The pull 40 may be entirely or in part resilient for example byincluding a resilient section 42. If the pull 40 is resilient, it may beattached to an immovable object such as a fence 62 illustrated in FIG. 4or goal post 64 illustrated in FIG. 7. Alternatively, the pull 40 may beconnected to another harness 12 worn by an instructor 66 skilled in theactivity being taught.

In order to enable attachment of the pull 40 to an immovable object suchas the fence 62 or goal post 64, the pull 40 may be provided withsecuring means 70 at a distal end 72 thereof distal the harness 12. Aproximal end 74 of the pull 40 is secured to the harness 12. Thesecuring means may for example be a buckle, a hook and loop fasteningarrangement or dome fasteners. Alternatively, the securing means maysimply involve tying the distal end 72 about the immovable object.

The resilient section 42 may be exchangeable for a different resilientsection 42 with a different resiliency. The different resilient sections42 may be marked, for example, by banding or colour coding, to indicatedifferent resiliencies. The remaining section of the pull 40 which isnon-resilient may comprise a strap.

In use, a coach 60 or skilled person 66 uses the apparatus 10 to teachtransfer of weight and momentum from a lower area 80 to an upper area 90of the user 30. This is accomplished by securing the pull 40 to the area50 corresponding to the iliac crest of a trailing hip of a person/user30.

Next, the user 30 commences the activity which would typically bethrowing an object or striking with a club, racquet, bat, a stick, etc.

The coach 60 or skilled person 66 would then apply a force to the pull40 to urge the person/user's 40 hips to turn to encourage weighttransfer motion from a back foot 90 to a front foot 92 of the person 30in coordination with the activity. This is shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5where the pulling force is from in front of the person.

Once the person has learned the desired motion, a resistive force may beapplied to the pull 40 to resist the person's hips from turning tostrengthen the weight transfer motion. This is illustrated in FIGS. 6and 7 where the pulling force is from behind.

The above description is intended in illustrative rather than arestrictive sense. Variations may be apparent to persons skilled in theart without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by theclaims set out below.

1. A method of training a person in an activity requiring transfer ofweight and momentum from a lower area to an upper area of the personcomprising the steps of: (i) securing a pull to an area corresponding toan iliac crest of a trailing hip of the person; (ii) having said personcommence said activity; and, (iii) applying force to said pull to (a)urge said person's hips to turn to encourage weight transfer motion froma back foot to a front foot of said person in coordination with saidactivity or to (b) resist the turning of person's hips to strengthen theweight transfer motion.
 2. A training instruction kit comprising: aharness mountable about a user's waist and thigh; a pull securable tosaid harness at a region corresponding to the iliac crest of a hip ofsaid user for pulling said harness to encourage or resist turning of theuser's hips to respectively teach or strengthen weight transfer from aback foot to a front foot of said user; and, a set of instructionsincorporating the method steps of claim
 1. 3. The training instructionkit of claim 2 wherein at least a section of said pull is resilient. 4.The training instruction kit of claim 3 wherein said section isexchangeable for another section having a different resiliency.
 5. Thetraining instruction kit of claim 4 wherein said section comprisesindicia indicative of a degree of resiliency.
 6. The traininginstruction kit of claim 2 wherein said harness comprises a waist strapsecured to a thigh strap; and, said waist strap and thigh strap are eachprovided with interengaging securement means for securing said waiststrap and said thigh strap firmly about said user's waist and thighrespectively.
 7. The training instruction kit of claim 6 wherein saidpull comprises a cord or strap and at least a section of said pull isresilient.
 8. The training instruction kit of claim 7 wherein saidsection is releasably connected to a remainder of said strap.
 9. Thetraining instruction kit of claim 7 wherein said pull has a proximal endproximal to said harness and a distal end distal to said harness andwherein said distal end is provided with a securing means for securingsaid distal end to an object, person or apparatus.
 10. The traininginstruction kit of claim 3 wherein said pull comprises a cord or strap.